The FedEx Cup Playoffs kick off on the PGA Tour this week as it visits Liberty National Golf Club for the 2021 The Northern Trust. Read on below to see my prediction for who will win the tournament, as well as my predictions for who will finish in the top 10, my dark horse, and my player to fade.
Winner: Jon Rahm- Rahm has had a strong run on the course of late, finishing T-8 at the PGA Championship, W/D from the Memorial Torunament presented by Nationwide due to COVID-19 while holding a 6 stroke lead with 18 holes to go, a victory at the U. S. Open, a 7th place showing in the Abrdn Scottish Open, and a T-3 at the Open Championship. Rahm brings his strong form into Liberty National Golf Club, where he finished T-3 in this event in 2019. Rahm is firing on all cylinders and I predict that he will win the Northern Trust.
Top 10: Jordan Spieth- Spieth has had a career resurgence this season, with a victory at the Valero Texas Open, 2 runner ups, and 9 top 10’s in 22 starts. Spieth has had past success at Liberty National, finishing T-6 here in 2019 and T-19 here in 2013. Spieth has finished inside the top 10 in 6 of his last 10 starts and he is playing some of the most consistent golf of his career. I predict that Spieth will finish in the top 10 this week, but don’t be surprised if he is in the running late in the going on Sunday.
Dark Horse: Jhonattan Vegas- Vegas has put together a quietly good run the past couple of weeks, with 5 top 15 finishes in his last 7 starts, including a pair of runner up finishes. Vegas finished T-38 at this venue when the tournament was held here in 2019, so he has some experience at this venue. A win is unlikely, but I predict that Vegas will be inside the top 35 by weekend’s end.
Player to Fade: Tom Hoge- Hoge has been in quite the slump of late, missing the cut in 10 of his last 13 starts. In a field as strong as this week’s is, Hoge will be an easy fade.